Up until now Apple’s focus was to show the iPad as a great device for content consumption, we were usually presented with the iPad as a great way to read, watch movies, social media and so on.

Apple’s latest commercial suggests that they are shifting their weight on the product from a consumption device to a creative device with taking stills and shooting video being its prominent features.

Apple’s iPad air Your Verse commercial which aired during the NFL playoff game today (San Francisco 49ers vs. the Carolina Panthers) shows the iPad being the prime tool in creating content.

The iPad is used as a camera in many of the use-cases shown: shooting home videos, pro videos, hokey games and so on.

In fact the your verse minisite, lists on-the-fly film making as one of the suited uses for the ipad:

“New York-based filmmaker Josh Apter has created a housing for iPad that turns it into a lightweight, portable moviemaking camera. With attachments like microphones, SLR lenses, and other accessories, he takes iPad on the go to shoot his documentaries

What do you think, is apple on the path to success with this approach?

Does anyone know what the storyboard app they’re using at 0:33 ish? Looks like “Paper” but seems to have some layering bits

Fotog

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t laugh at the stooges taking photos and videos with their ipads at events and such. Now Apple is encouraging it? Ugh.

http://blog.chrishutcheson.com/ Chris Hutcheson

Please no. It’s hard enough to catch some shows with all the iPhones in the air. The last thing we need is boobs with iPads.

http://www.joelmeaders.com/ Joel Meaders

That is a huge pet peeve of mine.

Rick

“…is apple on the path to success with this approach?”

Not really, for a couple of reasons. First, Apple is already successful so the path to success is behind them. Second, all of the instances shown on the your-verse website were small niche markets and many of the solutions were created by heavy investments of the end user, not by Apple. The end user/creator is the one who stands to benefit from their investment, not Apple. Apple’s continued success does not depend on the limited number of devices sold into these niche markets. Apple’s success depends on moves like the recent agreement with the Chinese telecom giant that opens them up to 750 million potential new customers.

Sure, their advertising will help sell a few more tablets as their advertising is selling dreams. But how many people in the real world actually need one so they can climb Mount Everest, do open heart surgery, count fish deep underwater, or create epic video documentaries.

NutSpark

If Apple wants people to seriously consider the iPad as a device for photography, then Apple needs to treat the camera in the iPad seriously. The iPad is always stuck with a generation or two old camera compared to the iPhone.

The camera on the iPad has always been treated as an afterthought, that must change with Apple first.

Klaas van Kreis

Aside of the technical specification of this product, you can say what you want, but this ad is very intriguing and well made. I would have expected something less deep and more colourful and viviacious – kind of Coldplay-ish.

Fred Smith

The camera/video on the iPad is “good enough” for many consumers and small businesses. For a pro? No way. That doesn’t mean technology won’t provide more opportunities in the future, so sensitizing the consumer and businesses about using the iPad this way is a good thing from AAPL’s point of view. Wirelessly connecting the iPad to a camera is cool for all photographers right now. Hooking up better optics to all Apple devices is easier than ever. This is the future.

Frank Nazario

Blackfish was done incognito using iPads… and no one is laughing about what was done using that tool. Sure the guest and members of the staff might have been laughing at “the guy with the ipad taking movies” … it worked in their favor.
The fact that now a diver can take this tool and use it in a way no one had been able to use it before is simply outstanding.
And regarding that … your super mega duper 1920x1080p super duper 240hz refresh rate multi thousand dollar tv has the outstanding resolution of 1.3 megapixels …. waaaay under the iPads camera capacity… and the quality is very good, or do you think those very cool videos that you see are NOT post processed… please don’t be that naive. the iPad content as any other content will be post processed, and in some cases the difference between quality will be negligible… so yeah… go and do new things with the iPad. Let everybody else laugh… you will have the last one.

joe_average

resolution does not (only) define a good picture, so why belabor the “ipad capacity.” you’re conveniently omitting: sensitivity, noise, aberration, distortion, color filtering (bayer demosaic), etc. a pinhole camera cannot compete with real glass and larger sensors and better processing. “very good” quality to you is subjective; good luck convincing photographers to use this as a tool. at best, its good as a screen for remote view!
and yes, the ipad knuckle-heads will always look ridiculous. not to mention they block everyone else’s shot and are a huge distraction at events.

Kathern Amerline

Did anyone ever try to shoot with one of these things in bright
daylight? The display (screen) disappears. You can’t see to compose, frame or check focus.

I am in professional broadcast television and except for some boutique shorts or intros to larger pieces the iPad, iPhone, et.al. are worthless in the high level pro market. Some of the downfalls are: inability to change batteries, lenses with fixed focal length, deep depth of field and any control over it, sensor size, ISO shifting, frame rates, resolution, lack of ability to white balance, latency and gross lack of manual controls. Not withstanding is the quality of its optics; chock full of chromatic aberrations, vignetting and loss of sharpness in the corner zones. In short, I don’t think
you’ll find Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas or their DPs calling for any iDevices for their next feature film.

Want to make a home movie of your kids? It shines, but professional film and television will not give-in to the lack of quality and production values that are all over this ilk of hardware. All this and the videographer/photographer literally looks like a goof-ball with this large rectangular slab in their face.

John C

Can it be used as a camera? Sure. Should it? I would think there are better solutions than a large mediocre camera. Sure being able to edit it in the device is nice, but I would rather have a dedicated camera. I haven’t shopped cameras lately, but I’m sure there are cameras in a reasonable price range that can take better pictures. As someone mentioned earlier even the iPhone can likely take better pics.

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Allen Mowery is a commercial and lifestyle photographer, pseudo-philosopher, and wannabe documentarian killing time amidst the rolling hills of Central Pennsylvania. When not shooting client work or chasing overgrown wildlife from his yard, he loves to capture the stories of the people and culture around him. You can check out his work on his website or follow along on Facebook, Twitter (@allenmowery), and 500px.

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP
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